Ex-Karate Assistant Instructor From Haskell Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Student Ex-Karate Assistant Instructor From Haskell Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Student
Ex-Karate Assistant Instructor From Haskell Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Student A former assistant karate instructor from Haskell faces a maximum of 40 in state prison after jurors in Paterson convicted him of raping a 9-year-old girl at the Pompton Lakes dojo where he worked and at her Bloomingdale home, authorities said. Luke V. Bakula, 31, was found guilty last week of two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and two counts each of sexual assault and child endangerment. Bakula sexually assaulted the girl at Porta’s Karate Dojo Academy and at her home between November 2005 and July 2006, prosecutors said. The girl eventually went to authorities nearly 10…
Englewood, Woodcliff Lake Police Get Vital Pet-Oxygen Masks Englewood, Woodcliff Lake Police Get Vital Pet-Oxygen Masks
Englewood, Woodcliff Lake Police Get Vital Pet-Oxygen Masks SNOUT OUT: Police in Englewood and Woodcliff Lake have added specially-designed oxygen masks for pets to their life-saving equipment. Each set donated by at-home pet services provider Canine Company includes masks in three sizes to fit a range of pets, from small mammals to giant breed dogs. The special, cone-shaped resuscitation masks designed for a pet’s snout, which human masks don’t fit.   They can be used to resuscitate pets who are suffering from smoke inhalation or were drowning, among other emergencies. Pets are at special risk during home fires because they ar…
STORM: North Jersey Schools Announce Early Dismissals Wednesday STORM: North Jersey Schools Announce Early Dismissals Wednesday
Storm: North Jersey Schools Announce Early Dismissals Wednesday North Jersey is expecting three to five inches of snow on Wednesday. Several school districts have already announced early dismissals. Check with your school district for details and more information. The districts that have already announced early dismissals are: BERGEN COUNTY Bergenfield Bogota Dumont Edgewater Little Ferry Mahwah Midland School (Rochelle Park) Oradell Palisades Park Paramus Ridgefield Park River Edge Teaneck MORRIS COUNTY Butler Craig High, Boonton Craig School, Mountain Lakes Denville Dover Madison Mendham Morris Morris Plains Mount Arlington Parsippany-Troy Hills Ra…
POLICE: Riverdale Store Owner Accused Of Selling Juul Pods To Minors POLICE: Riverdale Store Owner Accused Of Selling Juul Pods To Minors
Police: Riverdale Store Owner Accused Of Selling Juul Pods To Minors Tips from concerned Riverdale residents lead to the arrest of a convenience store owner accused of allowing his employees to sell Juul pods to high schoolers, authorities said. An investigation by Detective Eric Hollenstein found that Pranav Shah, 36 of South Plainfield, and his employees at a Hamburg Turnpike store had been selling the pods for more than $25 to students under the age of 21 from Pompton Lakes and surrounding towns, Riverdale Police said in a press release. The sales also break a borough ordinance that bans the sale of tobacco to anyone under 21 years old, police said. …
Rutherford Police Get Vital Pet-Oxygen Masks Rutherford Police Get Vital Pet-Oxygen Masks
Rutherford Police Get Vital Pet-Oxygen Masks SNOUT OUT: Rutherford police have added specially-designed oxygen masks for pets to their life-saving equipment. At-home pet services provider Canine Company donated three masks in response to a request by police Sgt. Julie Ann Zeigler. The cone-shaped resuscitation masks are designed for a pet’s snout, which human masks don’t fit. Each set includes masks in three sizes to fit a range of pets, from small mammals to giant breed dogs. They can be used to resuscitate pets who are suffering from smoke inhalation or were drowning, among other emergencies. Pets are at special risk during home f…
IMAGES: 'Big One' Consumes Marcal Plant, Ignites Nearby Buildings, Power Lines IMAGES: 'Big One' Consumes Marcal Plant, Ignites Nearby Buildings, Power Lines
Images: 'Big One' Consumes Marcal Plant, Ignites Nearby Buildings, Power Lines UPDATE: They feared it would happen sooner or later. Now it has -- in a way far worse than could have been imagined. Wind-whipped flames consumed the Marcal Plant in Elmwood Park Wednesday night in what quickly became the kind of fire many have long feared. The fire raged for several hours after breaking out in a warehouse around the start of the evening rush along nearby Route 80. Dozens of companies raced to help. Hundreds of smoke eaters jumped in. 500 people lost their jobs. And just when it seemed things couldn't get worse, another threat emerged.  Flames consumed the entire pl…
Wayne PD: Lost Driver Found With Potent THC Vape, Pot Wayne PD: Lost Driver Found With Potent THC Vape, Pot
Wayne PD: Lost Driver Found With Potent THC Vape, Pot The driver of a late-model BMW unfamiliar with a Wayne residential neighborhood drove into cul-de-sacs looking for through streets before a police officer who’d been watching pulled her over, authorities said. While speaking with the driver following the 2:20 a.m. stop on Hamburg Turnpike, Officer Corey Stevens noticed “an overwhelming odor of burnt marijuana,” Detective Capt. Laurence Martin said. He then discovered a sealed black box labeled "Kingpen" containing a 1000mg cannabis vape cartridge with a significant THC concentration of 71.48%, Martin said. The passenger was released at the…
Fire KO'd At Vacant Wanaque Store Fire KO'd At Vacant Wanaque Store
Fire KO'd At Vacant Wanaque Store Fire damaged a vacant Wanaque store in a multi-business building Sunday afternoon. Flames spread to the roof and inside the wooden Ringwood Avenue building, near the Ringwood border, which also houses a daycare center and a liquor store. The site of the fire was once a framing company. Bloomingdale and Pompton Lakes firefighters were among the responders who joined their Wanaque colleagues.
RANKINGS: Wealthiest Towns In North Jersey According To Census Data RANKINGS: Wealthiest Towns In North Jersey According To Census Data
Rankings: Wealthiest Towns In North Jersey According To Census Data The median household income in New Jersey is $76,475 -- so how do North Jersey towns factor in? According to data from the U.S. Census covering 2013 through 2017 released last month, several communities in Bergen and Passaic have some of the highest earners in the state. The median income in Bergen County was $91,572 and $63,339 in Passaic County. Median income is the amount that divides the income distribution into two equal groups: Half of the population has an income above that amount, and half are below it.  The wealthiest municipalities in Bergen County: Closter…
Pompton Lakes Porch Pirate Caught With Kiddie Porn, Passaic Sheriff Say Pompton Lakes Porch Pirate Caught With Kiddie Porn, Passaic Sheriff Say
Pompton Lakes Porch Pirate Caught With Kiddie Porn, Passaic Sheriff Say A Pompton Lakes man with a history of porch piracy was caught trafficking child pornography, Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said. Samer Alabdalrazzag, 25, was charged following a warranted search of his home after Berdnik’s Internet Crime Against Children Task Force “received information regarding [him] sharing four image files of child pornography for other social media users to view,” the sheriff said. “A search on [Alabdalrazzag's] cellular telephone revealed an additional image of child pornography,” Berdnik said. “Detectives will continue to search for additional files …
NJ: Passaic Man Collects $60,000 Of Insurance On Bogus Heart Attack, Stroke, Parkinson's Claims NJ: Passaic Man Collects $60,000 Of Insurance On Bogus Heart Attack, Stroke, Parkinson's Claims
NJ: Passaic Man Collects $60,000 Of Insurance On Bogus Heart Attack, Stroke, Parkinson's Claims A heart attack, a stroke, Parkinson’s disease and coronary artery disease: Todd Eckel of Passaic County claimed he had them all – and collected $60,000 in insurance payouts for the bogus ailments, said authorities who charged him with fraud. Eckel, 47, of Pompton Lakes, “submitted forged documents showing medical treatments for illnesses he did not have” between February 2016 and November 2017, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. American Heritage Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Allstate, paid Eckel $20,000 for each of three claims before getting wise, an indictment return…
UPDATED: School Closures, Delays Friday In North Jersey UPDATED: School Closures, Delays Friday In North Jersey
Updated: School Closures, Delays Friday In North Jersey Many North Jersey districts that announced delays for Friday have since changed to closures. Here is the update as of 9:30 a.m. Be sure to check your district's website for further details. CLOSED: Bloomingdale Clifton CTC Academy (Fair Lawn/Oakland) Demarest DePaul Catholic HS Fair Lawn Fort Lee Franklin Lakes Glen Rock Hackensack Indian Hills HS Oakland Paterson Prospect Park Mahwah Midland Park Pompton Lakes Ramapo HS Ringwood River Edge Saddle River Sage Day (Mahwah/Rochelle Park) Totowa Wanaque Wayne Wyckoff DELAYED: Bergen Catholic Bergenfield Public Schools Closter Edgewater Engle…